Lens support hatch

ABSTRACT

In a lighting fixture in which the walls of a housing define an opening and a lens panel is mounted in the opening in such a way as to leave a substantial span of the panel unsupported, said panel extending inboard of and spaced from the opening defining wall, a lens support latch is provided of steplike design, including a supporting ledge beneath and in supporting relation to the panel along the otherwise unsupported span of the panel, a riser part extending between the edge of the panel and the opening-defining wall of the housing, and a pivotally mounted upper step part. The latch is supported by the housing. In the preferred embodiment, the housing wall has along its lower edge a U-shaped channel, the inner wall of which defines the opening, and the latch includes a mounting bracket seated in the channel of the housing. The mounting bracket has inner and outer broad sides lanced to provide anchoring points, and end walls projecting above the inner wall of the channel. The stepped latch member is pivotally supported by these end walls.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Charles 0. Hughes St.Louis; Thomas Akin, Clayton, Mo. [21] AppLNo. 850,451 [22] Filed Aug. 15, 1969 [45] Patented Feb. 16, 1971 [73] Assignee Emerson Electric Co.

St.Louis,Mo.

[54] LENS SUPPORT LATCH 7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs. [52] U.S.Cl 292/194, 292/95 [51] lnt.Cl. E05c3/04, E05c19/12 [50] FleldofSearch 292/31,54, 101, 194, 202; 248/341;240/93,5l.11, 147 [56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,736,588 2/1956 Lindholm 292/194X 2,797,312 6/1957 Fletcher 240/41.55 3,061,718 10/1962 Estes 240/138 IIIIII IIIIIII FOREIGN PATENTS 89,362 11/1958 Netherlands.... 104,046 3/1963 Netherlands ABSTRACT: In a lighting fixture in which the walls of a housing define an opening and a lens panel is mounted in the opening in such a way as to leave a substantial span of the panel unsupported, said panel extending inboard of and spaced from the opening defining wall, a lens support latch is provided of steplike design, including a supporting ledge beneath and in supporting relation to the panel along the otherwise unsupported span of the panel, a riser part extending between the edge of the panel and the opening-defining wall of the housing, and a pivotally mounted upper step part. The latch is supported by the housing.

In the preferred embodiment, the housing wall has along its lower edge a U-shaped channel, the inner wall of which defines the opening, and the latch includes a mounting bracket seated in the channel of the housing. The mounting bracket has inner and outer broad sides lanced to provide anchoring points, and end walls projecting above the inner wall of the channel. The stepped latch member is pivotally supported by these end walls.

PATENTED E81 6 I971 3563587 CHARLES O. HUGHES THOMAS AK\N LENS SUPPORT LATCH BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the lighting fixtures to which this invention has particular application, a frameless lens panel. is mounted in a rectangular housing, supported on two long edges by the housing but free of the housing along its two shorter edges. However, the present invention also applies to other types of fixtures; for example, those fixtures in which the rectangular housing is square and in which a panel is provided with projections at each corner, all four sides intermediate the projections being free of engagement with, and spaced inboard from the housmg. I

In general, such a lens panel is not hingedly mounted in fixed relation to the fixture, but is provided with a pair of aligned hinge lugs projecting from opposite edges of the panel at or near a long edge of the panel. When the lens panel is sufficiently displaced to permit an edge opposite the lugs to clear the housing, the diffuser can be swung down and the lugs permit it to hand hang so that the lamp housing may be serviced. In order to permit this movement, the edges of the lens panel from which the lugs project must lie inboard of the housing. While such an arrangement allows easy access, the lens panel has had to be made of material thick enough to be self-supporting through the full unsupported span. If such a heavy guage material was not used, the panel would, over a period of time, lose its shape, and sag from the fixture.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a supporting latch which will permit the use of lighter guage lens panels. As such, the invention prevents the deformation of the panel from heat and keeps the panel secure in the fixture.

Another object is to provide'a latch which is unobtrusive,

economical to manufacture, easy to install, dependable in use.

Other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the following description and accompanying.

In a lighting fixture wherein walls of a housing define an opening and an enclosure panel is supported in the opening by means spaced to leave a span of the panel free of engagement with the housing and spaced inboard of the housing, a supporting latch is mounted on the housing along the panel. The supporting latch is stepped, with a ledge part projecting beneath and in supportive relation to the panel, a riser part connected to the ledge part and extending between the panel and the housing to a place above the panel, and an outboardly offset pintle part connected to the riser part and pivotally mounted, and supported by the housing. In the preferred embodiment, the housing has an open-topped, inboardly extending U- shaped channel at its lower edge, a wall defining the inboard wall of the channel defining an edge of the housing opening, and the supporting latch includes a bracket with two broad side walls lanced to provide anchoring points, and end walls projecting above the inboard wall of the channel. The pintle part of the stepped latch is pivotally mounted on the end walls of the bracket. The bracket itself is tightly seated in the housing channel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective, looking up, of one illustrative embodiment of the invention and its associated lighting fixture, mounted in a ceiling;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. I, and illustrates the preferred method of fitting the lens support in the U-shaped channel; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing for one illustrative embodiment of support latch of this invention, reference numeral 1 indicates a support latch mounted in a rectangular fixture 3. The fixture 3 is mounted in a ceiling 2. The fixture 3 includes a lamp housing 30, which includes an outer wall 31 at the lower end of which is a Ushaped channel 32 extending around the entire periphery of the housing, defined by the outer wall 31, an inner wall 33 and a connecting web 34. The inner wall 33 is made up of inner end walls 35 and inner sidewalls 36, and defines a rectangular opening 40 in which a diffuser or lens panel 4 is mounted. The inner end walls 35 are somewhat higher, along the two shorter ends of the housing, than are the inner sidewalls, along the long sidesof the housing. This is conventional, and is designed to bring the inner end walls, from which the lens panel is spaced inboardly, above the enclosure.

In the illustrative embodiment shown, the diffuser 4 is provided with hinge lugs 7, aligned with one another and projecting from the shorter sides parallel with and near an edge of a long side of the diffuser. The panel is so dimensioned with respect to the opening 40 that, in use as ,a diffuser, the two long sides of the panel rest upon long upper edges of the inner side walls 36, while the shorter edges of the panel 4 are spaced inboard from the shorter inner end walls 35, as shown particularly in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The supporting latch l, in this embodiment, includes a latch member 5 and a mounting bracket 15. The mounting bracket 15 is made of sheet metal and includes an inner panel 16, an outer panel l7, from both of which outwardly extending anchoring points 18 are lanced, and end arms 20. Each of the arms 20 has a hole in it near its upper end. In this embodiment, the panels 16 and 17 are integral with a connecting base 19 adjacent the connecting web 34 of the housing.

The latch member 5, in the embodiment shown, is made of one piece of light-transmitting, preferably transparent, plastic. It is stepped, with a ledge part 50, an upper surface of which engages the underside of the panel 4, a riser part 51 which extends through the space between the short edge of the panel 4 and the inner end wall 35, and an outwardly offset pintle part 52, from the ends of which pins 53, integral with the part 52, project. The pins 53 are journaled in the holes in the arms 20 of the mounting bracket.

. The knee between the pintle part 52 and the riser 51 is rounded, and the riser and the ledge parts 51 and 50 of the latch are so proportioned that when the latch part is rotated to the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 2, the heel or arris between the riser and ledge parts is outboard of the edge of the panel 4, so that the panel can be lifted straight up above the upturned latch.

In equipping the fixture with the latch assembly, the mounting bracket 15 with the a latch-5 already mounted, is pushed down into the channel 32, generally midway of the length of Y the short ends of the fixture housing. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the dimensions of the bracket and channel are such as to insure a tight fit of the bracket within. the channel, the anchor points 18, digging into the inside surfaces of the walls 31 and 35, inhibiting movement of the bracket with respect to the housing once it is installed. When a panel 4 is to be mounted, the latch part 5 is swung up into the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 2, the panel is inserted in the usual way and, while the panel is held above the latch part, the latch part is swung down to the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 2 and the panel is lowered. The primary support function for the panel is still performed by the walls 36 along the long sides of the panel. The latch 5 simply serves to insure that the panel does not sag. However, it can be seen that the latch 5 also serves a function as a safety device against accidental dislodgement of the panel. Numerous variations in the construction of the supporting latch of this invention, within the scope of the appended claim, will occur to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure. Merely by way of example, one or both of the pins may be slidably mounted in the pintle part and spring biased to facilitate installation of the latch part in the bracket. The bracket itself may be made integral with the housing, by forming outboardly directed ears on the inner end wall of the housing, for example, or may be modified, as by bending the arms 20 c from the base in a direction opposite the panels 16 and 17, lancing the points 18 in the opposite direction from the preferred embodiment and inserting the bracket so that the base 19 is mounted at or near the open top of the channel 32.

We claim:

1. in a lighting fixture wherein walls of a housing define an opening and an enclosure panel is supported in said opening by means spaced to leave a span of said panel free of engagement with said housing and spaced inboard thereof, the improvement comprising a supporting latch mounted on said housing along said panel, said supporting latch having a ledge part projecting beneath and in supportive relation to said panel, a riser part connected to said ledge part and extending between said panel and said housing to a place above said panel, and an outboardly offset pintle part connected to said riser part, pivotally mounted, and supported by said housing.

2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the latch ledge part is light transmitting.

3. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the latch is made of one piece of light transmitting plastic.

4. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the offset pintle part of the latch is provided with integral mounting pins mounted for rotation on a bracket.

5. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the housing has a U- shaped, inboardly extending, open topped channel at its lower edge, a wall defining the inboard wall of the channel defining an edge of the housing opening, and the supporting latch includes a bracket comprising inner and outer panels and end arms, at least a portion of said panels being mounted in snug frictional engagement with walls defining the U-shaped channel and said pintle part of the latch being pivotally mounted on said end arms.

6. The improvement of claim 5 wherein the end arms of the bracket have holes in them and the pintle part of the latch has pins on it, joumaled for rotation in said so holes.

7. The improvement of claim 5 wherein the panels are integral with a connecting base and said base is positioned adjacent the web of the housing channel. 

1. In a lighting fixture wherein walls of a housing define an opening and an enclosure panel is supported in said opening by means spaced to leave a span of said panel free of engagement with said housing and spaced inboard thereof, the improvement comprising a supporting latch mounted on said housing along said panel, said supporting latch having a ledge part projecting beneath and in supportive relation to said panel, a riser part connected to said ledge part and extending between said panel and said housing to a place above said panel, and an outboardly offset pintle part connected to said riser part, pivotally mounted, and supported by said housing.
 2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the latch ledge part is light transmitting.
 3. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the latch is made of one piece of light transmitting plastic.
 4. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the offset pintle part of the latch is provided with integral mounting pins mounted for rotation on a bracket.
 5. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the housing has a U-shaped, inboardly extending, open topped channel at its lower edge, a wall defining the inboard wall of the channel defining an edge of the housing opening, and the supporting latch includes a bracket comprising inner and outer panels and end arms, at least a portion of said panels being mounted in snug frictional engagement with walls defining the U-shaped channel and said pintle part of the latch being pivotally mounted on said end arms.
 6. The improvement of claim 5 wherein the end arms of the bracket have holes in them and the pintle part of the latch has pins on it, journaled for rotation in said so holes.
 7. The improvement of claim 5 wherein the panels are integral with a connecting base and said base is positioned adjacent the web of the housing channel. 